About us – Mel & Suan

This is a blog where we share travels past and planned for the future. We also post our seemingly ‘directionless” musings, gripes, bits and bites about travel. We only offer our own perspective and have no intent to guide nor influence. In a way this is a selfish manifestation of our love for ourselves…so this is NOT a travel blog since we probably will write off tangent many (many) a time. And many a time you might see our posts make reference to songs too… look out and see if you can tease it out!

Perhaps the stories and posts might inspire you to plan your own journeys and build a handprint map to call your own.

Who are we?

Mel works as an office stiff by day and becomes an antiquities buff at other times. It did not start this way. As an economics graduate with an electronics diploma, Melvin wanted to be in marketing. And he did that for a short while. Then the financial crisis struck (sigh) and he moved out of sales and marketing. Beggars cannot be choosers right? It has been more than 20 years working in the same functional area since then, rotating around the globe a fair bit along the way as a corporate stiff drone (lucky for us!).

Suan on the other hand was an accounting girl by circumstance more than choice. It was a practical way to quickly get a paying job. She just wants a simple life where you get to do what you like, you know – the lucky-go-happy sort. She’s the model for our photograph collection/gallery/exhibition… plus the boss at home.

Combined we are more than the dynamic duo. Suan cooks, Mel clean up. Its an equal relationship (depends on how you see it). So, its dynamic – ie it changes to circumstances where Suan gets to select the part of the equation she wants – eg mop the floor but will leave the toilet to Mel. So long as both parties in a relationship have agreed with each other. That’s most important.

So, how did we get here?

With no kids and ample opportunities to work outside of our home country, it should be easy to see how we got “carried” away as our travel handprint grew larger. Click here to read all about our travel handprint. If you really need to know, ask us. We are very happy to hear from you. Aside from saving for “retirement” (if there was really such a thing), it’s all for the airlines, travel expenses, rental car etc…

On this blog Mel does most of the writing and Suan the editing. And we comment and respond jointly. What we are really interested is not in the number of followers and likes but the how often we engage in conversations/dialogs with other bloggers.

There are many sites and blogs on the web that caters to almost anything you need to know about the places you desire to be. In fact, the sheer number of sites constitutes somewhat of an information overload. Well, this blog adds a view from our perspective, in addition to our newsletter. Click here to find out more.

Just us adding our two cents to the mix.

“All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.”Samuel Johnson

Don’t you think what he said is true?

August 2017

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118 thoughts on “About us – Mel & Suan”

I come across your website and it is nice to meet you and to get to know you more. I am Yunni and my husband is Mickey. Both of us love travelling and we just start blogging last month. We are a new blogger, and unlike you, Mickey is obsess with a no of follower and everyday I see him staring all night at the computer screen and do nothing. ha..ha.. it was soo funy to see him and keeps ridicule him:) anyway, have a fantastic week ahead.

Hey Mel and Suan! I highly enjoy your articles, alongside your comments on my own articles. I have therefore decided to nominate you for the Mystery Blogger Award! A great way to get recognition for your amazing work. I hope you choose to accept the nomination, but if you don’t then simply take it as a compliment for your commitment to blogging. Here is the link if you would like to participate. https://travellingantics.com/2018/03/29/mystery-blogger-award/

Hi,
Thanks for liking my post on http://www.galleyvantingaround.com . That means I discovered your blog, how interesting! I am fascinated by how you mix your past and current travels, also love your ” ramblings ” and observations.
Looking forward to following you, one always need inspiration and stimulation from others…
V

Glad you like it. We’ve written a lot but its been offline and perhaps in the newsletters. So its more about sharing and perhaps telling a story and raising a topic more than the travel journey itself. Hope you enjoy it more!

Hello, Mel & Suan. Your blogs are awesome I enjoy reading them. If possible I would like to request you to post your stories in my blog http://www.startbagpack.com/ .
If you want or anybody who wants to share your travel stories or adventure with us please visit and contact us.

Oh thank you for nominating us!
Its true we are award free…heheh. Short answers here ok?
1. Can’t decide! keep adding to bucket list.
2. Have not counted. 50?
3. the part of the whale the produces ahem!
4. Oh we’ve fallen off watching movies!
5. Blogging was a means to keep in contact with friends and ex-colleagues initially
6. English, Mandarin, a little Dutch, and 4-5 other Chinese dialects if you will.
7. Everyday!
8. Oh there are too many to list!
9. Be financially independent. Start volunteer work full time
10. The dry season…lol. We live on a tropical island!

Hello
Just to let you know that I have nominated you for the Blogger’s Recognition Award. I am pleased to have come across your blog and have enjoyed reading your posts. Have a look at my recent post for the rules/conditions regarding this award.https://japaninsidersite.wordpress.com/2017/03/25/bloggers-recognition-award
I hope you accept the nomination and I look forward to seeing who you nominate. Congratulations!
Yoshida-san

Hi Yoshida-san,
Many thanks for nominating us! But we are an award free blog, meaning we are not looking for awards. But we are very grateful for your nomination! Do keep posting too and we enjoy reading your adventures too!
Mel & Suan

Hi! Thank you for visiting and commenting my blog. I’ve only recently started the whole thing and was often confused as to where to click to see what, so it took me a while to get back to you. I noticed that the background in your wonderful picture above looks like Germany. Did I guess right? 🙂 Also, I will definitely take a look at the other fun things to do in the heartlands of your home base (great collection of posts on your page!), when I am, hopefully soon, in Singapore again.

No worries. It is always the most challenging to start something new. We were a little like this too a year back!
Our featured photo is of Strasbourg, Petit France area. Historically part of Germany at some point too but now part of France.
Yes there are lots to do in Singapore’s heartlands. One just need to take the MRT and step out to see the real Singapore!

Oh thanks! We are award free, so thanks for the kind thoughts!
Yes the concept of a Hand print is our way of distinguishing from a “footprint”…we say we touched the places we traveled to, because we do think it is only momentary. It will take many lifetimes to experience the lives of people in the places we travel to! lol

You’re welcome! I really love reading your posts, so this award is just a way of saying “thank you” for your hard work and helping to share your blog with new readers 🙂
It is such a great idea, I love it so much! Yes, travel is often just a brief glimpse into another culture and way of life, the hand print analogy is perfect.

Thanks for your wonderful About page. I am totally intrigued about how you guys can lead such prolific travelling lives whilst working in the corporate sector.
Our common friend Len has done well to recommend your blog! I’ll definitely be back for more 😉

LOL yes we do what is known as “bleisure”, ie try to combine business with some leisure for each possible business trip. Sometimes this works and other times the schedules conflict…but it happens enough to be able to travel a few times together in a year…so it boils down to planning and a lot of luck!

Thanks for checking out our blog Suan & Mel! I took a minute to read a couple of your articles and it sounds like the two of you would be wonderful Sojourn Ambassadors. If you think you might be interested in putting together a group of 7-14 people, you would sojourn with them “our treat”. We have a new line of “Live-Like-a-Local” sojourns and I’m looking for Ambassadors for the 2018 trips to Provence. You can check the itinerary out here (http://www.sojournertours.com/live-like-a-local-in-provence/) and drop me a line if you’d like to know more at lisagustavson@sojournertours.com
-Lisa (owner, Sojourner Tours)

Found your blog after you commented on my entry on finding a place in Rotterdam. Gotta say I’m in love already! You guys sound like a great couple and I am loving your posts – so glad I found you! Keep up the good work. 😉

Thank you! We really hope to inspire readers to build their own travel stories and go see the world.
Not by quiting the job (LOL) but slowly over time. Because life may seem short, but there are other things in life too that are important!

Hi, love your blog and have started to follow and read your posts. We have an almost identical outlook to yourselves on travel. I’ve tried to follow you in my Newsify app but it won’t connect to you, do you have your RSS feed switched on! DrB 👍👍👫

Howdy, this is Michael from mdtcreative.com after following and appreciating all of your thought provoking comments on my blog I had to see what type of blog you have and, as I assumed, I’m very impressed. I have to admit you folks are living the life “Honey” and I always wanted and soon will. We have always loved to travel and within the next couple of years we plan to retire and hit the open road to see what’s out there and learn all we can.

I’m also a huge history buff so I love to visit new places and soak up all of the history I can. I really look forward to more of your writing and to share more of your adventures with you. Thank you again for following my writing and always sharing an intellectual and thought provoking comment. Take care in your travels.

It’s to Mel and Suan sorry if there was a misunderstanding. However, I’m happy for the mix up because it gave the opportunity to take a look at your site, and I wouldn’t have had that opportunity otherwise. You also have a great site with interesting content and I look forward to reading more of it.

Thanks Michael, but you may have followed the wrong site? My Quality Education Global site was created for overseas aid workers in education with no further posts, it’s an online learning resource. My personal site is http://www.thetwodoctors.wordpress.com

I’ve been on the stretch from Freiburg to Karlsruhe many times — never been to the other side of the river, but the towns and architecture seem so similar on both sides — e.g., Colmar and Freiburg … OK, Strasbourg is on my list now.

You sound like a great couple, and how lovely to be able to travel around like you do. Have you ever been to Greece? We live on our yacht over the summer and spend six months floating around the greek islands.

Thanks for liking my post about my son Nick’s trip to the Great Wall of China. Also check out my previous post about the rest of his trip to China with his girlfriend Summer, to visit her family and see some sights! I’ve got some other travel posts, too, to Turkey, where I lived for awhile, and to Mexico, to visit a friend who lives there at Christmas time.

Your blog looks awesome, so I’m now following it! 🙂 Take care and happy travels!

I had a lovely trip to friends in central Mexico for a week at Christmas quite some time ago. You may want to check out my post called “Christmas in Puebla 2007,” which I published in June of this year. 🙂

Hey guys! I have just found your travel adventures and I’m absolutely amazed and will be following you for sure!
Check my adventures as well and I hope you may come to Portugal to add my country to your beautiful travel experiences! Cheers 🙂

Thanks for reading for posts. I know they are sometime (well maybe most) directionless. And sometimes a little more on the serious side. Kind of “schizo”.

I am very curious about places you touched on your trips. Do you have any references on th web that I can read up more about them? I cannot seem to easily purchase books on Indian history. This is one of the blindspots in my collection.